RSM Common Sense By WO1 (RSM) Steve ‘Spud’ Armon It’s 2002. I’m a newly promoted Cpl in the Vikings waiting to go in front of the CO and be read my Section Commanders’ Battle Course report. I am arrogant, overzealous and thirsty to fight any enemy that comes my way. The only thing that matters…
A Junior Officer’s Thoughts on Staff Leadership By Maj Mark Shercliff We are taught to equate military leadership with the adrenaline and tempo of operations in the field, yet the reality is that many of our opportunities to exercise good leadership are actually in the different (but still challenging) environment of a staff headquarters. Staff…
Clive Woodward’s Teamship By The Army Leader 22nd of November 2003. In the Telstra stadium the Australian Rugby team faced off England in the Rugby World Cup final. Australia, the hosts, took an early lead in a physically brutal match but England gradually pulled ahead towards the end of the first half. There then followed…
Dealing with the Power/Truth Imbalance By The Army Leader “All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.” Sophocles, Antigone The topic of speaking up and getting your voice heard has been a hot one recently, with two articles…
Don’t Airbrush Leadership By Chris On 15th and 16th of May 2017, 13 members of the Brigade of Gurkhas stood on the summit of Mount Everest, the first serving Gurkhas ever to do so. The Gurkha Everest Expedition 2017 was the culmination of a 5 year journey. It was the most successful mountaineering expedition on…
Five Reflections on Building a Mission Command Culture – Part 2 By The Army Leader In Part 1 I gave what I think are the first two rules of thumb for a mission command culture. Rules based on establishing your intent and communicating it. The next three rules are about creating a culture of trust…
Five Reflections on Building a Mission Command Culture – Part 1 By The Army Leader Mission command is more than just the British and US Armys’ philosophy of command – it’s more or less the NATO philosophy of command. It’s founded on the clear expression of intent by commanders, and the freedom of subordinates to…